Saturday Brunch

[ngbreed]

I am looking for a place to enjoy a Saturday brunch for 7 people in September. I am looking at Commander's Palace and Dante's Kitchen. Which one do you recommend or do you have another great restaurant you think is better. Thanks for your help.

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Commander's Palace Restaurant
1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Dante's Kitchen
736 Dante Street, New Orleans, LA 70118

[asuzc]

Cafe Atchafalaya has a Saturday and Sunday Brunch. It doesn't have a buffet, but does have a build your own bloody mary bar. The food and service was excellent.

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Cafe Atchafalaya
901 Louisiana Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

[collardman]

Agreed that Cafe A will give you a touch of a lot of N.O./Cajun ingredients in breakfast/brunch dishes but is not a buffet. But with a 7 top you can do a lot of sampling among each others plates. It is a great choice for a casual brunch

[jenn2083]

I've been to both Commander's and Dante's. They are very different experiences as collardman said. Do you want to get dressed up and eat a 3 course meal? Or, do you want to have a more laid back brunch? The food is actually similar just in different settings. Definitely a New Orleans spin on breakfast. I really enjoyed the debris and eggs at Dante's. There were at least 4 other entrees I wanted to try. I had a tough choice there. I remember the Commander's menu being more limited. There were only a few entrees I thought I would like. The experience of being dressed up and having the music playing is really fun. Totally New Orleans.

I don't think you'll go wrong in the food department at either place. It's really just the experience you have to consider.

[ngbreed]

Dante's doesn't take reservations for brunch. What is the wait time like on Saturdays? Is it better to go earlier rather than later?

[jenn2083]

Go early! Last time we went, we got there about 10 minutes prior to opening and there were a lot of people already waiting outside. However, once they opened the doors, we got a seat right away. When we left, there was a waiting list.

[collardman]

Those are two entirely different experiences.

Can you pass on a few more requirements or preferences and maybe someone can home in on good or better choices.

[Littleman]

I like Antoine's. And Muriel's also. If you don't mind a short drive to Mid City I like Ralph's.

Antoine's @ 713 Saint Louis St., New Orleans, LA. 504 - 581 - 4422.
http://www.antoines.com/
Muriel's @ 801 Chartres St., New Orleans, LA. 504 - 568 - 1885.
http://www.muriels.com/html/home.html
Ralph's on the Park @ 900 City Park Ave., New Orleans, LA. 504 - 488 - 1000.
http://www.ralphsonthepark.com/index.php

[ngbreed]

Do any of these restaurants offer a Saturday brunch? The websites only advertises a Sunday brunch.

[hazelhurst]

Commander's does..or did..a jazz brunch on Saturday. 11;30 start.

[ngbreed]

We are looking for a true New Orleans experience. If we could find a restaurant offering a brunch buffet where we could sample many different types of food, cajun, creole and comfort foods that would be ideal.

[hazelhurst]

The danger there is that a buffet is not going to be great for a lot of items. Some, sure, but a dish such as shrimp creole will just have the shrimp getting more and more rubbery. I think you'd be better ordering a series of things...just my opinion.

[Bill Hunt]

I would also argue against any buffet. The food will never be as good, as if prepared for you. Even at stellar brunches, like Orchids at the Halekulani, or even the old Marquesa at the Scottsdale Fairmont, buffet is just not as good.

I can add Brennan's Saturday Brunch as a worthwhile meal - at least it has been for us, in three recent trips.

Enjoy,

Hunt

[paz5559]

Begue's WAS the exception to that rule. Sadly, they have closed

[kibbles]

to echo the others, you cannot get a true New Orleans experience in a brunch buffet. sorry.

[bronwen]

Many people pan Court of Two Sisters but I like it, there's a buffet and jazz and it is very New Orleansy.

[Bill Hunt]

Have not dined there in many years (decades?), but it does have a lovely venue.

Wife was leaning towards Court, when I chose Brennan's some years ago. We ended up there, and "the rest is history."

Glad to hear that Court is doing better now. Going way back, neither Court of Two Sisters, nor Brennan's was on our radar screen, but times, management and chefs change.

Thanks for the rec.

Hunt

[ngbreed]

There are a lot more negative reviews for Court of Two Sisters than positive. Have you been there recently and had a positive experience? We would definately be interested in checking it out.